Competitiveness and Performance Effectiveness for Health Care IT Systems

Competitiveness and Performance Effectiveness for Health Care IT Systems

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Competitiveness and Performance Effectiveness for Health Care IT Systems

Health Care systems are institutions that are legally permitted to offer health care services. They range from small clinics to big hospitals as well as care homes. The use of technology in any company is meant to make human work easier, to fasten operations and to reduce the cost of production. Just like many companies that have embraced technology, health care institutions use technology to efficiently and effectively administer health care. As a result, such institutions ought to employ expertise in the technological sector who can transform information into technology and to decide on the best technology to be used. This is where people called chief technology officers (CTOs) and chief information officers CIOs come in.

Roles of CTOs and CIOs in Health Care Systems

Over the past years, the roles of CTOs and those of CIOs have overlapped. In fact, many small organizations only employed one to oversee every technological aspect of the company. This included but not limited to decisions on which devices to purchase, which software to acquire, managing internal IT team, recommending the most suitable content management systems, maintenance of standards and regulations, monitor trends in technology and headed technological research and development (Stimpson et al, 2014).

However, as companies expand and technology advances, there is need to separate the roles of the two. In a health care environment, a chief technology officer decides the appropriate technology to acquire and suggests new technology for implementation. He deals directly with the hardware and he goes out to search for appropriate technology vendors. A CTO is also required to be skilled in marketing so as to represent the health care system externally and builds and open and engaging relationship with the customers, partners, investors and vendors. A CIO on the other hand handle the internal IT team and infrastructure. He is also responsible for converting hospital information into technological ideas. For example, he can devise ways of technologically analyzing and simplifying large hospital data. They are tasked with finding out how changes in technology can affect health care processes

Due to their advanced knowledge in technology, they are in a position to suggest the best devices and even software that will ease the work of the medical practitioners. For example, the implementation of Electronic health records (EHR) has improved transparency and work-flow within health care systems. They can also suggest new devices which are fast in diagnosis and produce more accurate results. Their knowledge also enables them to transform medical research into technology and look for the appropriate devices to be utilized for the same, thereby improving the standards of health care delivery. This means that the employees will have easy time during diagnosis and treatment and the patients will receive fast and improved services (Einbinder, 2010).

Developing Technologies that Health-care Should Use to Improve Health Care Processes

Technology is ever dynamic. Every change is an improvement of the previous version and both devices and software easily become obsolete. Companies therefore move with the advancing technology. Health care systems are no exception. Currently, there are various changes in hospital technology that focus on improving care provision; to satisfy the care giver and receiver through improving operations and lowering consumer costs. Below are two of the many important technologies that a health-care should implement.

Payer-Provider Data Software

This refers to a kind of software that enabled a health care or a medical practitioner to get detailed information about other health cares. This is very useful when a patient requires to be referred to a specialist. The software is able to provide up to date and accurate information when the name of the health care in question is entered, unlike the word of mouth referrals where some of the information may be exaggerated. This information could include whether the required service is available, whether the doctors to offer that care are available, how well the care is administered (e.g does the facility has the appropriate technology and expert practitioners), the proximity to the patient and whether it accepts insurance among other critical information (Stimpson et al, 2014).

Knowing such accurate facts beforehand saves time and money that one could have used going round to look for a referral facility. In the United States, 35% to 45% adult inpatient referrals go to a partner hospital, resulting in more than $90M lost for every 100 physicians as a result of not having the right information of the care network. In addition, patient treated within the care network receive better services due to care coordination which may not be the case outside the well-known care centers.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new technological approach in the health care sector. However, it has not been fully embraced due to old systems found in most health care centers. AI require the latest computer systems which have high processing capabilities and the use of electronic health records so as to capture data in real time. Artificial Intelligence mimics the operations of a human being. In a health center, some devices and applications have been developed to administer health care services just like a nurse.

Nabu is a robot that was developed by Catalia Health to help patients with heart problems. The robots ask how the patient is doing, makes judgments and reminds on the type of medication to be taken. The data it takes can then be fed into Electronic Health Records through text or email. This shows that AI can help patients with chronic diseases without having visit the health facility every now and then. AIs are accurate thus improving diagnosis and treatments. Doctors also get more time to attend to other patients.

Protecting Data Privacy and Achieving a High Level of Security of Health Information

Protection of individual health data is very crucial. A person’s health information should not be let out without their consent. This is to avoid discrimination that one may be subjected to when they are discovered to be suffering from a certain disease. This kind of discrimination may come about at schools, work place, insurance covers and even within the society. Data privacy is concerned with being able to safeguard sensitive information (Savigny & Adam, 2009). It puts in place policies that ensure that health information is gathered and used in the right manner. Security on the other hand concerns itself with ensuring that data is protected from unauthorized access

Annual HIPAA security risk analysis

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) is act that regulates access to health care information in an attempt to ensure data security and privacy in the United States. The legislation ensures that health data is not accessed by anyone unauthorized to avoid information misuse and also ensures that the information owner has a right to access their data whenever they request for them. Health institutions should therefore abide by the rules of HIPAA and once in a year carry out an audit to determine if there has been a violation to the protection of Protected Health Information (PHI). They should also be able to determine if there are any risks that could lead to health information being compromised so that they can work to mitigate them.

Prevent unauthorized access

Unauthorized data access comes as a result of poor techniques of safeguarding information. Sensitive information should always be encrypted with high levels of encryption algorithms. Strong passwords should be used for client computers and as well as application and storage servers. If in any case the hospital EHR system is a hosted service, it should be provided in a private cloud. A private cloud ensures that data is not accessed from the public and thus keeps information safe. Updated firewalls are always recommended for health care computer networks and use of recent anti-viruses for client computers. Audits should often be carried out on the network to determine if there is a vulnerability that can lead to health information being compromised.

Training Providers in Using Technology in Health Care

Training is a very crucial aspect in the implementation of technology in the health care systems. Pre-implementation training is very important to understand how the technology will be implemented and for everyone to understand how they are going to use it. The main reason for implementing technology is to improve care services and reduce consumer costs. In order for this objective to be realized, the providers should be willing to embrace this technology and be able to use it. Post implementation training is also very important though many organizations do not give it the emphasis it requires. It is critical for the support of day-to-day hospital activities (Bredfeldt, C. et al 2013).

The training strategy that I would suggest to ensure effective and efficient use of technology is to conduct post implementation feedback sessions. Many technologies fail because after the users are trained on how to use the system, many think that they are good to go. The fact is that being trained to use something and the actual usage of that thing are different. Challenges are experienced once you start using the system. It is, therefore, important to conduct two-weeks sessions to give feedback and solve arising difficulties on using the implemented technology. With time, users become experts and they even reach points where they suggest possible improvements to be added to the system to finally realize an effective system (Savigny & Adam, 2009).

Effective IT Alignment and Strategic Planning Initiatives for Health Care Systems

It is very important for a health institution to ensure effective IT alignment and strategic planning. Every institution has goals and objectives that seek to achieve at the end of the day. Proper planning is one way towards realizing goals. Failure to plan well means a messed-up system that cannot stand to achieve the desired results. Implementation of technology is also a way to boost means to achieving the set goals. It is crucial to ensure that proper IT system is put in place and users are well trained to render outstanding results. Just like any company, health care should respond to new changes to survive market competition

The first strategy would be to identify the right IT system. Technology is very dynamic and systems become obsolete very fast. It is important for the health care CTO to research and consult on the current and most appropriate technology depending on the health care needs. Carrying out both internal and external analysis would help determine what is good for the institution to carry out its work competitively. Getting the right technology ensures that operations will be performed as required and no money is lost when having to buy one system and later realized that it is not working hence need to purchase another one.

The second strategy would be to thoroughly train the users on how to use the technology to achieve the health care goals and objectives. User training is key whenever something new is implemented. Training is done before implementation to give everyone the insights of how the system would be. Training is also done per person, teaching them on the specific sections of the system whey they are going to interact with. Once the system is in place and in use, it is highly recommended that feedback sessions are conducted for everyone to give their views on the use of the system. During these sessions, clarifications are made on where one might not have understood (Einbinder, 2010). These sessions improve user confidence and finally make them system experts.

The final strategy would be to conduct a continuous assessment of the IT system. As already stated, IT is implemented to improve health care service and reduce costs. It it necessary to always check whether the system is achieving its purpose. This should be done regularly so that if need be changes can be done to the system as early as possible. The cost of implementing IT systems is very high. CTOs should be very keen in ensuring the right implementation to avoid future shortcomings

References

Bredfeldt, C. E., Awad, E. B., Joseph, K., & Snyder, M. H. (2013). Training providers: Beyond the basics of electronic health records. BMC Health Services Research, 13(1). doi:10.1186/1472-6963-13-503

Einbinder, L. (2010). Transforming health care through information: Case studies. New York: Springer.

Savigny, D. D., & Adam, T. (2009). Systems thinking for health systems strengthening. Geneva: Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.

Stimpson, J. P., Li, T., Shiyanbola, O. O., & Jacobson, J. J. (2014). Financial Sustainability of Academic Health Centers. Academic Medicine, 89(6), 853-857. doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000000252